Rainy Day
by Kanan
Summary: The ronins are stuck insdie with cabin fever, and are sitting on the edge of a fight. Ryo suggests they play a few games to ease their minds. Will it ework, or will it drive the boys even more insane?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Ronin Warriors, but seriously, who wouldn't WANT to? Maybe some day when I rule the world, I'll own it then! Muahahahahaha!

Riny day

Sigh

Sigh

"Rowen was sitting at the windowsill with his chin on his arms. He stared out into the cold and wet world, wanting so much to go outside. But, it was raining. Poor, poor Rowen… he was stuck inside, with not a thing to do. A fish in a bowl was sitting by his side, but the fish had better things to do, like make bubbles in his bowl. Oh, what was poor Rowen to do on a dreary day like this? What, indeed… well, he could…CLEAN."

Cye looked over his shoulder from the couch and stared back at the pouting Rowen. The other, obvious by the glare he was throwing, was not amused by Cye's narrating.

"Will you cut that out? I'm tired of it!"

"'Tired of what?' Cye asked"

"That! You've been narrating EVERYTHING all day! Stop it!"

"Okay…"

"Thank you…"

Rowen leaned his head back on his arms and continued to stare outside.

"Ha ha… 'The torrent laughed, seeing as his lie had fooled the other.'"

"That's it!"

Rowen stood up, and Cye was horrified to see that he had grabbed the fish bowl containing one of his little friends. Rowen then threw the bowl. Some of the water spilled out, and Cye had a split second to jump and catch the bowl before it hit the floor. He managed to catch it in time, and then held up the bowl to examine the contents.

"Tsuki? Tsuki, are you okay, little buddy?"

Cye stuck his finger in the bowl and his friend came out from the castle he'd been hiding in. after a minute of staring, the small beta let Cye pet him, which he seemed to enjoy. The water bearer was always kind and affectionate with his water friends, and that is why they never fought and the fish helped him in battle. His other friend, however, wasn't too happy with him. Now, Cye had rage to return.

"Why did you do that! He could have died! Are you mad, Rowen!"

"Yeah, I'm mad! I asked you a million times not to narrate, but you just kept doing it!"

"Well what else am I supposed to do! It's raining outside, and there is absolutely nothing to do!"

Kento heard the yelling and came out of the kitchen to see Cye trying to wrestle Roen to the ground. He jumped over the couch and pulled his best friend away.

"Murderer!"

"Pest!"

"Hold it, you two! What's this all about?"

"He tried to kill my fish!"

"What? Ro, why would you do that?"

"Because he was being annoying! I tried to talk to him calmly, but he just ignored me!"

"Oh, no… Cye, you weren't narrating real life again, were you?"

"Well…"

"Yes he was!"

Kento let go of Cye and waved a finger at him.

"Cye, that even annoys ME!"

"Are you saying you'd throw my fish across the room if you got the chance, too?"

"No, I wouldn't go that far but-"

"I had nothing ELSE to throw!"

Soon, all three of them were yelling. Ryo, from outside in the rain, heard the commotion and patted White Blaze on the head, urging him to hurry along. Ryo had ignored the fact that it was heavily raining and took his white tiger out for a walk. When he came back through the door, he removed hi coat. Only then did the tiger decide to shake his fur off, soaking the ronin again.

"Blaze!"

The tiger made a noise like a chuckle and walked off towards the leader's room. Then, Sage came around the corner.

"Welcome back."

"Thanks."

He handed Ryo a dry, warm towel, which the other took and began to dry his hair off. Then, the raised voices from the other room grew louder.

"What's going on in there?"

"A little cabin fever, I think."

"Well, it has been raining for three days…"

Ryo and Sage walked into the living room to find the other ronins practically at each other's throats. They were pulling at each other's hair and tugging on their clothes. Immediately, the other two sprang into action. They ran to the fighting three and forcefully pulled them apart. Ryo pulled Rowen away, only to be shoved away. Rowen tried to fight again, but White Blaze appeared in the middle of it and roared loudly. At this, everyone stopped, and Cye looked very startled. Ryo stepped up again.

"What the hell has gotten into everybody! We're friend, and friends don't fight like that!"

"Well he started it!"

"He threw my fish!"

"Enough!"

All eyes were on Sage now, who looked just as perturbed as Ryo.

"Look, I know it's raining and we're stuck here with nothing to do but stare at each other, but if you can't even handle that, then what kind of ronin warriors are you?"

All three heads went down.

"Wow, Sage… that was… maybe a little harsh?"

"Sorry. I guess I'm getting a little annoyed, too."

"No problem. We're gonna solve this calmly and we may just have some fun, too!"

"What do you propose?"

"How about a series of games?"


	2. Chapter 2

"W-what? You've GOT to be kidding me!"

Cye let out a startled sheik. Four pairs of eyes were on him, and yet he felt very alone. After Ryo had suggested they all play games, Cye figured they would be sitting around the table playing Monopoly, or an innocent card game. He never expected he would be sitting on the floor, in the middle of a heavy rainstorm outside, naked from the waist up. But, that's the cost of an inexperienced player participating in a game of strip poker.

Ryo was missing his shoes, his socks, and his jacket, Kento was missing only his shirt, not like he minded anyway. Rowen was sitting in his jean shorts without socks or shoes, but Cye had almost been ridden of all his clothes already. All that remained were his pants and underwear, which he was currently, desperately, trying to keep covering him.

"Come on, Cye, off with them!"

"What? Why?"

"Because that's the game! When you lose a hand, you remove an article of clothing!"

"Yeah, it's a rule!"

"I-I don't like this game! I want out!"

Ryo waved his finger at the boy.

"You can't just quit! Come on, it's not that bad, Cye!"

"Yeah, I'll even help ya if ya need it!"

Rowen reached across the circle they had formed, jokingly, and Cye jumped up and hid behind his best friend, Kento.

"I don't need help!"

"Ha ha… Cye… you know, eventually, they WILL come after you!"

"What? Wont you protect me?"

"Sorry, little buddy, but rules are rules!"

"I hate this game! Why are we even playing it?"

"Ask the guy who suggested it."

Everyone looked at Sage, who was fully clothed, and was drinking a soda. When he noticed he was being stared at, he simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Hey, don't look at me like that. Really, I'm not TRYING to play so well. In fact, I've been trying to lose. It's warm in here…"

"I am starting to think you hate us, Sage… It's like you're not even participating!"

"I can't help it if you guys stink at cards…"

Rowen glared at him with all his fury and embarrassment, both of which Sage simply shrugged off. Ryo was then on his feet, trying to convince Cye to come out from behind Kento, who were both standing, now, also. Cye was a shy person, and they all knew that. But, Ryo was reluctant to reveal himself, too, yet he was willing to participate.

"Come on, Cye! Just finish the hand and you can quit! We wont make you do anymore than that!"

"No! I'm not going to take my pants off!"

"Well, if you're talented, you'd remove your underwear but keep you pants on!" Kento joked.

"This isn't even funny!"

"Cye… it's just a game, and just between us guys!"

Rowen popped his head up behind Ryo.

"Yeah! So, which is it, Cye; boxers or briefs?"

Cye's face went red, and the boy was almost in tears as he ran away, heading up the stairs towards his and Kento's room. Everyone was silent up until they heard the door slam. Then, Ryo sighed. He understood why Cye wasn't willing to undress. Besides the obvious reasons, he had been in a bad fight recently, almost a month before, and he was left with numerous scars. As he was sitting in the circle, before, Ryo could see the ones on his arms and his chest, but most of the damage had been to his legs.

Sure, he wasn't the only one. Kento broke two ribs, Sage got burned on his face, but he healed quickly, though some of the redness still showed, Rowen hurt his back, but he was long since healed. Lucky guy. As for Ryo, himself, he had received very few injuries. A hefty blow to the head knocked him unconscious early into the battle. For that, Ryo felt very guilty. The others got so badly beat up trying to fight AND protect him.

Then, once he woke up, everyone had been in such lousy moods. Cye rarely left his room, Rowen read through his recovery, Sage spent half of his days looking into the mirror, mourning his face, and Kento, well, he was still Kento; at least, on the outside… Kento was worried about everyone. He ran about trying to make everyone happy, but it put a lot of strain on him. When Ryo tried to offer his help, Kento refused it, telling him that he could handle it and that Ryo needed to rest more. He hated that. He was the group leader, and he couldn't help when he was needed. So, suggesting the games was a way to try and pull everyone together after a long period of silence, and it appeared to be working, until after Cye ran off. Ryo heard Rowen sigh behind him.

"Man… now we'll never know!"

"Dude, what does it matter?"

"I don't know, but it does!"

"If you're so obsessed, then go raid his dresser drawers!"

"No! That's just not the same!"

"You are SO weird!"

"Am not, muscle head!"

"Book worm!"

"Am not!"

There seemed like there would be no end to the madness that night, and it was starting to drive Ryo crazy!


	3. Chapter 3

It was happening again. The five ronin spirits were being divided by silly, pointless disputes, and none of them but him realized it! Could only Ryo feel the pressure and sorrow of the group falling apart? He had to put an end to it quickly, before all of them decided to try and kill each other again! Ryo briskly walked between Rowen and Kento, the two fighting, and pushed them away by their chests.

"Stop it, you two!"

"But I didn't do anything! Don't yell at me!"

"Oh, and you're saying I started it?"

"You usually do!"

"Stop spreading lies!"

"I'm not lying!"

"Well… you tried to kill Cye's fish!"

"That's ENOUGH, you two! Geeze!"

Ryo's loud yell managed to get the two of them to calm down, but it wasn't much of an improvement. They just stayed quiet, and turned away from the other. Sage was still sitting on the floor, looking just as concerned as Ryo. Sage, of all of them, probably understood what was happening, and he stood up, finally lending a hand.

"Hey… We shouldn't be fighting each other like this."

"Sage…"

Sage looked up at Ryo, who was smiling, thankfully.

"First off, you're both giving me a headache!"

That's when it went downhill.

"Well, sorry if we're hurting little Mr. Vanity! Maybe you're giving US headaches!"

"Yeah, what makes YOU so special? I mean, don't we matter?"

"I didn't say that!"

"Close enough!"

"Heh… he is vain, isn't he? Always looking out for number one!"

"Now, wait just one minute…"

"You always think you're so much better than us! You think we cramp your style, right?"

"Kento-"

" 'Oh, look at me! I'm Sage, and I'm a major suck-up and a sore loser'!"

"Stop it! Let me speak, damn you!"

"What? More bragging or something!"

"Man… you two are just so dense!"

"What was that?"

"Look, can't you see you're hurting someone ELSE'S head, now, too?"

Sage pointed behind the boys to Ryo. When the others turned to look, Ryo had his head in his hands, and he was holding his hand over his face so hard he was almost cutting into his forehead with his nails. But, it wasn't because of his headache. Sure, in the fight, his skull cracked a little, and a still-fresh cut was stitched up on his brow, but he was just distraught. He could feel his friend's anger on a completely different level, and for some reason, it put a lot of strain on his mind, and his armor and virtue.

Though, he was surprised when it suddenly got silent, and he removed his hand to see three pairs of eyes staring at him, worriedly. He jumped a little when Rowen got close to his face.

"Man, I'm sorry, Ryo! How's your head doin'?"

"Huh? I-"

"Dude, we just weren't thinking!"

"Hey, maybe you should sit down!"

"No, I'm-"

The others wouldn't let him retaliate as they took hold of his arms and ushered him to the couch in the living room. Even after he was seated, they didn't leave him alone. The problem wasn't his physical health, it was the boys' bond! But, he couldn't get more than two words out without being interrupted, so he decided to keep quiet. He slouched into the soft couch cushions and covered his face with a pillow to stop the others from trying to inspect his stitches. After a while, it quieted down again, and Ryo removed the pillow.

Each of the ronins was sitting in a different spot. Cye still wasn't there, and Sage was the only one looking at him. Seeing as the leader came out of hiding, he approached him slowly.

"I really should take a look at that now, Ryo. No hiding."

Ryo wanted to hide, but seeing as Sage was concerned, he deiced agreed to the simple examination. He sat as still as he could as Sage poked and prodded. He finally winced as Sage touched one of the pieces of thread that stuck out, and turned his head away.

"Ryo…"

"See? I'm okay, really. I'm worried about all of you!"

"What?"

"Say again?"

All of them looked at him as though he said something completely stupid.

"Ryo, maybe you haven't noticed, but we're nearly all healed. You're the only one left with still-open wounds."

"Not to mention that you just woke up about a week and a half ago from a coma-thing."

"No, that's not it at all! Look, you've all been acting strangely since that battle."

"We have?"

"Actually, we're usually this mean to each other, Ryo."

"No, you're not! You're friends, and friends shouldn't…"

They waited for him to finish, but they weren't getting it, anyway, so he shook his head and set the pillow back over his face, careful not to rub against the protruding, painful thread. Then, to his left, Sage sighed.

"I'm leaving."

"You are?"

"Yeah."

"What for?"

"I told you I had a headache, didn't I? I'm going to take some asprin and sleep it off."

Before leaving, he looked down at Ryo again.

"Do you need anything?"

Ryo shook his head lightly, and then listened as Sage excused himself.


	4. Chapter 4

So far, two of his friends had stomped off and after the second left, an hour ago, the three who were left were still having problems. Rowen and Kento had been involved in video games for a while, with one similar outcome- Rowen almost always won. Even someone as level-headed as Sage would have gotten annoyed at losing all the time, so you can imagine how upset Kento was.

Ryo had pretended that he was asleep, but he had been listening to the yelling, sounds from the game, and Rowen's laughing. The longer the boys played, the less he could feel their bonds. He had his eyes tightly shut under the weight of the pillow, staying as still as stone, but when there was a loud noise next to him, he jumped.

As it turned out, Kento had lost another game, and threw his controller at the wall. It was unharmed, but it had scared everyone else. Kento was now on his feet, pointing an accusing finger at his friend.

"You've got to be cheating, Rowen!"

The other reacted by rising to his feet, also, and yelling back.

"No way! I can't help it if I play better!"

"Bull! You're SO cheating!"

"I don't have to take that from you!"

"I should be saying that! I'm done messing around with a cheater like you!"

Kento turned on his heel and stomped away, heading for the basement. Ryo turned around, leaning on the back of the couch. He tried to talk to his friend, but Kento refused to answer. He got to the basement door and slammed it behind him. The leader of the ronins turned back around when he heard Rowen sigh and run his long, thin fingers through his deep blue locks.

"Damn… I can't take this another minute…"

"R-Rowen!"

Rowen was walking away now, and Ryo stood up and called his name. He was desperate now. The link was so weak, and so when he turned, there was a look of desperation and inner pain. Rowen seemed to see this as he looked his friend in the eyes, and looked away a moment later with a lowered head.

"Ro… you don't have to leave…"

"Sorry, Ryo…"

And he left. Ryo was alone, and he felt empty inside. He frantically searched his memory for a clue as to why his friends were so divided, and could find nothing. They had been such good friends a month ago, and now, just a short while after he regained consciousness, everything was falling apart. Ryo lowered his head. Somehow, he was sure it was his fault, and he could do nothing to fix the mess.

The tired, sad ronin was about to sit down again, until he heard the front door squeak open. He hadn't noticed anyone leaving the house, and Mia wasn't due to return for a while, so… who was out there? He put on his fighting face and stood ready for anything, but he was relieved to see that it wasn't an enemy, but his loyal white tiger. Well, almost relieved.

The big cat must have been rolling around in the mud, because he was completely filthy! Even when Ryo had taken him out earlier, he hadn't gotten as messy as he was then. The tiger looked up at his master for a moment, then a guilty expression fell on his face as he turned away and tried to scamper away. Unfortunately, he was heading for the kitchen! If Cye came down and saw that 'his' kitchen was wreaked, there would be hell to pay!

So, Ryo quickly rounded the house and walked towards the doorway where the cat had come in from, and that's when he heard White Blaze running. Ryo quickened his pace, trying to catch up, but he hadn't anticipated the floor in front of the door to be so wet and slippery. Before he could register what was happening, his vision was climbing the wall until he saw the ceiling and then nothing.

It felt as if he had been hit by a truck. If his previous head injury was bad, the current pain in his head would rival it. He couldn't see, and he was cold as ice. He could feel himself shiver, but not much else aside from the pain. In his mind, he yelled for someone to help him out of the darkness, but the darkness itself was what he saw through the link. Losing hope, he intended to give himself up to the dark, until a sudden wave of energy surged through him.

The wave was hot as the magma from an active volcano, and it wrapped around him like a tight embrace. Ryo caught himself shivering again, despite the warmth. His lips quivered, and he could feel his ehad being lifted slightly. The boy heard voices, and once all of the cold was gone, he opened his eyes. The sight he saw before him brought even more glorious warmth into his heart.

"Ryo?"

"Oh my goodness… is he alright?"

"Calm down… I'm sure he's okay! …Right, Sage?"

"Ryo, can you hear me?"

All of his friends were together, gathered in one place, and they all shared the same expression. Though they showed worry, Ryo could see that they had forgotten their fights, and the link was stronger than anything. Then, a face with amethyst eyes and blond hair came into view, and he was holding a flashlight into his eyes.

"Ryo? Hey…"

"Sage? Guys…?"

"Ah… welcome back!"

"Ryo!"

"He's okay!"

"That's great!"

Ryo smiled, contentedly. And then, he heard something like a grunt from Sage, whose lap he was resting on, and opened his eyes again. Everyone was smiling, even though serious Sage was shaking his head at him.

"Honestly, Ryo, how many head injuries do you have to receive to get a point across?"

"Well, only two, hopefully. They really hurt, you know!"

"I bet."

"Hey…"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you guys finally noticed."

"Noticed? You mean that the link was breaking?"

"Yeah. I was worried that I was the only one. You must have realized it was broken when you all left, huh?"

"Actually…"

As the others exchanged glances, Ryo rose an eyebrow, confused.

"The first thing we noticed was a loud banging noise down here. When he found you on the floor, I tried to heal you, and that's when we all felt the separation."

"Well, I'm glad to have you all back!"

"Likewise, Ryo!"

Everyone was smiling now, even more so when a muddy tiger leapt into the area, tackling Kento and getting the ronin messy, too, and as Ryo was helped into a sitting position, he looked to the side. The door had been open when he fell, and he remembered the cold. However, he now had a blanket over him, and the door was closed, and he thought of the warmth. But, he knew it wasn't as simple as that.

Ryo knew that the cold was the loneliness inside his heart, and the broken bond between his comrades, and the warmth came from them, when they finally came back together. It was a warmth that he had known for a long time, and he would die to protect that warmth. Just… he hoped he could go a full two weeks without getting another head injury.

Owari.


End file.
